I eyed the pair, contemplating my move. And that’s when I noticed him on the other side of the couple. To be accurate, that’s when I noticed him noticing me.
He didn’t seem aware of the couple between us. He was looking directly at me. His gaze slid over me. There was nothing subtle about it. He surveyed me thoroughly, from head to toe. Like he didn’t quite know what to make of me. And I’m sure he didn’t. I wasn’t typical of Maisie’s clientele. Not in my black knee-high boots, jeans, and purple cashmere sweater. And not with the diamond studs in my ears that Dad bought me because he felt guilty about leaving me alone for Christmas while he took his girlfriend to Barbados. At least he spent New Year’s with me. I ignored the whisper reminding me that he only did that because he broke up with his girlfriend the moment they got back from Barbados.
The guy’s eyes settled on my face, and I could see they were a warm, deep brown. He looked even hotter up close. And taller than he had from across the room. Just barely over five feet, it didn’t take much for me to feel smaller than everyone else—especially guys—but the top of my head would barely reach Biker Boy’s shoulder.
And then I squashed that thought because it would never matter. There would never be a moment where I would stand close enough to him to find out firsthand. I wasn’t stupid enough to get tangled up with the likes of him.
Realizing I was checking him out just as much as he was checking me out, I quickly broke eye contact. Heat crawled over my already overly warm face. Even not looking at him, I could feel his stare. We stood there, the couple making out between us with their distracting groans and pants, and I tried to pretend that this wasn’t awkward. That I wasn’t buzzing and unsteady on my feet and ripe for seduction from a guy who looked like him.
I took another glance. It was impossible not to look at him again.
He didn’t quite smile, but there was definitely a glint of humor in his eyes. His gaze flicked back to the couple and then to me again. He was amused. I compressed my lips, determined not to engage with him. I didn’t need to give him the wrong idea about me. Like I might be the kind of girl into hot biker boys.
Seeing an opening, I made a break for it. Squeezing past the gyrating couple, I darted forward clumsily on my heeled boots. Biker Boy turned sideways, looking down at me as our bodies came flush with each other. Fortunately the hall was wide enough that we didn’t actually touch. Thank God. A few inches separated us, but that didn’t stop me from noting that, yes, the top of my head barely cleared his shoulder. He was seriously tall. And if I wasn’t already drunk, standing this close to him would make me feel like I was.
His brown eyes gleamed down at me in the gloom. I kept moving, feigning disinterest—like I did every time I got the vibe that a guy might be more than I could handle.
If there was even the faintest doubt in my mind that I couldn’t control the guy in question . . . then it wasn’t happening. Period.
I shuffled along quickly, resisting the urge to look back. He was still watching me. I knew it. The nape of my neck tingled. He was probably wondering what the hell a girl like me was doing in a place like this and how I should get far, far away. Or maybe that was just what I was thinking?
When I got back to the table, I downed another drink. “How much longer, you think?” I asked after a few minutes.
Annie huffed out a breath. “I wouldn’t have brought you along if I’d known you were going to be such a nag.”
“I didn’t know we were coming to a place like this.” I looked around, taking the opportunity to search for Biker Boy. I couldn’t resist. He was back at the bar now, accepting a fresh longneck from the bartender and talking to a burly older guy beside him.
“A place like this? Listen to you. You’re such a princess, Emerson.”
I rolled my eyes at her. She was the one wearing body glitter that smelled like peaches. It looked like Tinker Bell had dumped her bag all over her head. I finished my cup and reached for the almost empty pitcher to pour myself another. My head felt comfortably insulated now, fuzzy and warm. Even the band sounded better.
The drummer winked at me and I grinned back at him. Yeah. He would do.
Glancing around the room, my gaze went to Biker Boy again. As though he felt my stare, his gaze swung to me. My eyes swung forward again, cheeks burning. Way to act disinterested, Em.
My face grew hot all the way to my ears. It wasn’t like me to get all flustered over a guy checking me out. It must be how totally out of my element I was here.
“What’s wrong? You look funny. Who do you keep checking out?”
“No one.” I shook my head, and then stopped, my fingers flying to my temples as I willed the room to stop spinning.
Annie looked around the room searchingly, clearly not believing me. “Ahh.” I stole a glance over my shoulder, following her gaze with a sinking feeling. Yep. She’d spotted him. Who else would I be looking at in this place? There weren’t many options. “Him again, huh?”
“What?” I played dumb.
“Oh. C’mon. Don’t try to act like you haven’t been checking him out. Of course you have. He’s the hottest thing in here.”
I shrugged and took another sip. “Fine. I noticed him. But he’s not my type.”
“Loser biker dude or not, he’s every woman’s type. At least I’m betting between the sheets he is.” She giggled and the sound grated on my nerves.
“Yeah, well, I’m not interested in finding out.” I took a long gulp. “He’s probably in some biker gang.”
She twisted in her chair to survey him more fully. “Bet he’s good in bed though. Could teach those college boys we’re used to a thing or two, huh?” She elbowed me in the ribs. “I wouldn’t mind giving him a go.”
“Aren’t you here for Noah?” I reminded her, annoyed at the level of interest in her voice. Somehow I had forgotten just how free she was with her . . . er, charms. Even my reputation paled in comparison to hers.
“Noah’s busy right now.” She wiggled her fingers in a little wave at Hot Biker Boy.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, grabbing for her hand and missing. Scowling, I tried again and caught her fingers this time.
“Making a new friend, I hope. What’s the harm in meeting him?” She yanked her hand free.
“Noah is watching,” I warned.